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Old 07-08-2010, 10:07 AM
 
Location: Sierra Nevada Land, CA
9,455 posts, read 12,508,411 times
Reputation: 16451

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When people say this or that about CA are they really just saying this or that about the state?

Or are they really saying this or that about one of the four major urban areas?

1. The greater LA/OC/Inland Empire
2. The San Francisco Bay Area
3. The greater San Diego Area
4. Sacramento

Some major complaints I hear are:

Air Pollution
Traffic
Crime
High Cost of living
Liberalism

I live in CA and experience none of those issues. Basically the above complaints are what you find in Urban areas. I took some time and studied some maps. To my semi trained eye I was struck by the fact that over 90% of CA is not urban.

http://www.californiamaps.us/california-urban-area-map.html

Most CA counties are red counties, per the most recent map I could find

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm

High cost of living is another Urban characteristic. Not only is the cost of houses high in Urban area, but the cost of services is higher. You probably pay 50% or more for a car repair in San Jose than what you pay in a place like Angles Camp. And the Urban lifestyle dictates that you spend more for clothes and entertainment that in a smaller town or in the Sierras. Median Home prices in my Area is around 200K. Even less in the San Joaquin Valley (170K)

Anyway I wish people would quit painting with the broad brush. CA is not just about LA or the SF Bay Area. Fact is; culturally the part of CA I live in has more in common with Nevada than the Bay Area.

Fact is: people who live in the northern third of the State have more in common with Oregon than the Bay Area.

And the southern third of CA might as well be a separate State, based on culture and worldview.
****************
Oh, I feel so much better!

Thanks for listening.
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Old 07-08-2010, 10:13 AM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,387,561 times
Reputation: 7585
But 90% of people live in those urban areas with all the problems. Other states have urban areas (where all the job are) with housing prices similar to California's "middle of nowhere" prices.
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Old 07-08-2010, 10:45 AM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,355,189 times
Reputation: 1802
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr5150 View Post
When people say this or that about CA are they really just saying this or that about the state?

Or are they really saying this or that about one of the four major urban areas?

1. The greater LA/OC/Inland Empire
2. The San Francisco Bay Area
3. The greater San Diego Area
4. Sacramento

Some major complaints I hear are:

Air Pollution
Traffic
Crime
High Cost of living
Liberalism

I live in CA and experience none of those issues. Basically the above complaints are what you find in Urban areas. I took some time and studied some maps. To my semi trained eye I was struck by the fact that over 90% of CA is not urban.

http://www.californiamaps.us/california-urban-area-map.html

Most CA counties are red counties, per the most recent map I could find

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm

High cost of living is another Urban characteristic. Not only is the cost of houses high in Urban area, but the cost of services is higher. You probably pay 50% or more for a car repair in San Jose than what you pay in a place like Angles Camp. And the Urban lifestyle dictates that you spend more for clothes and entertainment that in a smaller town or in the Sierras. Median Home prices in my Area is around 200K. Even less in the San Joaquin Valley (170K)

Anyway I wish people would quit painting with the broad brush. CA is not just about LA or the SF Bay Area. Fact is; culturally the part of CA I live in has more in common with Nevada than the Bay Area.

Fact is: people who live in the northern third of the State have more in common with Oregon than the Bay Area.

And the southern third of CA might as well be a separate State, based on culture and worldview.
****************
Oh, I feel so much better!

Thanks for listening.
Doesn't look like most of the counties are Red to me. And the Republican counties are where the least amount of people live in California. What county in the Sierra Nevada mts do you live in? 4 out of the 9 mountain counties are Democratic in case you didn't notice.

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Old 07-08-2010, 10:52 AM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,344,965 times
Reputation: 11041
Most people are referring to what Landis deemed "The California Heartland" - namely, the coastal low lands (inclusive of all So Cal valleys and plains west a meridian through Mt. San Jacinto) and the Central Valley.

Within this "Heartland" of course the urban and suburban zones get the most media attention.
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Old 07-08-2010, 11:02 AM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,355,189 times
Reputation: 1802
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly View Post
Most people are referring to what Landis deemed "The California Heartland" - namely, the coastal low lands (inclusive of all So Cal valleys and plains west a meridian through Mt. San Jacinto) and the Central Valley.

Within this "Heartland" of course the urban and suburban zones get the most media attention.
Southern California is the "heartland"? The only county in Southern California that has any voting similarity with the Central Valley is Orange county.
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Old 07-08-2010, 11:07 AM
 
Location: SW MO
23,593 posts, read 37,398,089 times
Reputation: 29336
An analysis of the above voting demographics map is all too easy. High urban areas, coastal areas and areas with high immigrat counts (Florida, NY, border states with Mexico and those heavily settled by Mexico before statehood, southern CA states, even inland ones) and heavily industrial states with strong unions, blue collar workers and minorities swing left. The heartland and vast center of America swings right.

Elemtery!
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Old 07-08-2010, 11:26 AM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,355,189 times
Reputation: 1802
Quote:
Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post
An analysis of the above voting demographics map is all too easy. High urban areas, coastal areas and areas with high immigrat counts (Florida, NY, border states with Mexico and those heavily settled by Mexico before statehood, southern CA states, even inland ones) and heavily industrial states with strong unions, blue collar workers and minorities swing left. The heartland and vast center of America swings right.

Elemtery!
But BayAreaHillbilly is not referring to the national "heartland" but rather the California "heartland." I've heard that term before in Stater Bros grocery store ads that highlight where the food is produced in California - the great Central Valley. But a look at the Central Valley shows that the counties where the most people live are also Democratic [Fresno\ Madera\ Stanislaus\ San Joaquin\ Sacramento\ Yolo].

I think the nostalgia of a California that was once heavily Republican is great but the GOP has changed so radically since Reagan was president that even he would be rejected by the Republican base today [and that is very sad].
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Old 07-08-2010, 11:32 AM
 
Location: Sierra Nevada Land, CA
9,455 posts, read 12,508,411 times
Reputation: 16451
Quote:
Originally Posted by californio sur View Post
Doesn't look like most of the counties are Red to me. And the Republican counties are where the least amount of people live in California. What county in the Sierra Nevada mts do you live in? 4 out of the 9 mountain counties are Democratic in case you didn't notice.
I live in Tuolumne County

Sierra Counties that are Red in your map:

Merced, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sierra, Plumas, Lassen and Inyo. Eleven.

Sierra Counties in Blue: Nevada, Alpine, Mono, Fresno (valley and mtn county) Three or four.
**************
But I do thank you for a 2008 map, which shows 23 red out of 55. Mine was 2004, which showed 36 as red. It might be interesting to see how the 2012 map looks
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Old 07-08-2010, 11:44 AM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,355,189 times
Reputation: 1802
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr5150 View Post
I live in Tuolumne County

Sierra Counties that are Red in your map:

Merced, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sierra, Plumas, Lassen and Inyo. Eleven.

Sierra Counties in Blue: Nevada, Alpine, Mono, Fresno (valley and mtn county) Three or four.
**************
But I do thank you for a 2008 map, which shows 23 red out of 55. Mine was 2004, which showed 36 as red. It might be interesting to see how the 2012 map looks
You are correct since some of the counties are hard to classify if they are valley or mountain. I know your point is that there are large areas of California that tend to be conservative but those regions are the least populated. But even some rural counties vote Democratic [ie. San Benito\ Butte\ Sonoma\ Lake\ Mendocino\ Humboldt, etc]. The urban regions continue to grow and become increasingly liberal; that trend seems to be set since California has voted Democratic for 20 years.
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Old 07-08-2010, 11:51 AM
 
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,267,944 times
Reputation: 6469
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr5150 View Post
To my semi trained eye I was struck by the fact that over 90% of CA is not urban.
But 90% of the population lives in the 10% that is urban. Thank goodness, you and I aren't amongst them.
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